| (a) Purpose. This section implements Texas Utilities
Code §184.014.
(b) Definitions. The following words and terms, when
used in this section, shall have the following meanings, unless the
context clearly indicates otherwise.
(1) Apartment house--One or more buildings containing
more than five dwelling units, each of which is rented primarily for
non-transient use with rent paid at intervals of one week or longer.
The term includes a rented or owner-occupied residential condominium.
(2) Dwelling unit--One or more rooms suitable for occupancy
as a residence and that contain kitchen and bathroom facilities, or
a mobile home in a mobile home park.
(3) Master meter--A meter used to measure, for billing
purposes, all electric usage of an apartment house or mobile home
park, including common areas, common facilities, and dwelling units.
(4) Month or monthly--The period between any two consecutive
meter readings by the utility, either actual or estimated, at approximately
30-day intervals.
(5) Owner--Any owner, operator, or manager of any apartment
house or mobile home park engaged in electric submetering.
(6) Electric submetering--Individual dwelling unit
metering of electric service performed by the owner.
(c) Records and reports.
(1) The owner shall maintain and make available for
inspection by the tenant the following records:
(A) the billing from the utility or retail electric
provider to the apartment owner for the current month and the 12 preceding
months;
(B) the calculation of the average cost per billing
unit, i.e., kilowatt-hour for the current month and the 12 preceding
months;
(C) all submeter readings and tenant billings for the
current month and the 12 preceding months;
(D) all submeter test results for the current month
and the 12 preceding months.
(2) Records shall be made available at the resident
manager's office during reasonable business hours or, if there is
no resident manager, at the dwelling unit of the tenant at the convenience
of both the apartment owner and tenant.
(3) All records shall be made available to the commission
upon request.
(d) Billing. All rental agreements between the owner
and the tenants shall clearly state that the dwelling unit is submetered,
that the bills will be issued thereon, that electrical consumption
charges for all common areas and common facilities will be the responsibility
of the owner and not of the tenant, and that any disputes relating
to the computation of the tenant's bill and the accuracy of the submetering
device will be between the tenant and the owner. Each owner shall
provide a tenant, at the time the lease is signed, a copy of this
section or a narrative summary as approved by the commission to assure
that the tenant is informed of his rights and the owner's responsibilities
under this section.
(1) Rendering and form of bill.
(A) Bills shall be rendered for the same billing period
as that of the electric utility, generally monthly, unless service
is rendered for less than that period. Bills shall be rendered as
promptly as possible following the reading of the submeters. The submeters
shall be read within three days of the scheduled reading date of the
electric utility's master meter.
(B) The billing unit shall be that used by the electric
utility in its billing to the owner.
(C) The owner shall be responsible for determining
that the energy billed to any dwelling unit shall be only for that
submetered and consumed within that unit.
(D) Submetered billings shall not be included as part
of the rental payment or as part of billings for any other service
to the tenant. A separate billing must be issued or, if issued on
a multi-item bill, submetered billing information must be separate
and distinct from any other charges on the bill and conform to information
required in subparagraph (H) of this paragraph. The submetered bill
must clearly state "submetered electricity."
(E) The bill shall reflect only submetered usage. Utility
consumption at all common facilities will be the responsibility of
the owner and not of the tenant. Allocation of central systems for
air conditioning, heating and hot water is not prohibited by this
section as set forth in §25.141 of this title (relating to Central
System or Non-submetered Master Metered Utilities).
(F) The owner shall not impose any extra charges on
the tenant over and above those charges which are billed by the retail
electric provider or utility to the owner. The bill may not include
a deposit, late penalty, reconnect charge, or any other charges unless
otherwise provided for by these sections.
(i) A one-time penalty not to exceed 5.0% may be made
on delinquent accounts. If the penalty is applied, the bill shall
indicate the amount due if paid by the due date and the amount due
if the late penalty is incurred. No late penalty may be applied unless
agreed to by the tenant in a written lease which states the exact
dollar or percentage amount of the late penalty.
(ii) In a mobile home park a reconnect fee may be applied
for a mobile home not leased by the mobile home park owner if service
to the pad site tenant is disconnected for non-payment of submetered
bills in accordance with subsection (e)(1) of this section. Such reconnect
fee shall be calculated based on the average actual cost to the owner
for the expenses associated with the reconnection, but under no circumstances
shall exceed $10. No reconnect charge may be applied unless agreed
to by the tenant in a written lease which states the exact dollar
amount of such reconnect charge.
(G) The tenant's submeter bills shall be calculated
in the following manner: after the electric bill is received from
the utility or retail electric provider, the owner shall divide the
net total charges for electrical consumption, plus applicable tax,
by the total number of kilowatt-hours to obtain an average cost per
kilowatt-hour. The average kilowatt-hour cost shall then be multiplied
by each tenant's kilowatt-hour consumption to obtain the charge to
the tenant. The computation of the average cost per kilowatt-hour
shall not include any penalties charged by the utility or the retail
electric provider to the owner for disconnect, reconnect, late payment,
or other similar service charges.
(H) The tenant's electric submeter bill shall show
all of the following information:
(i) the date and reading of the submeter at the beginning
and at the end of the period for which the bill is rendered;
(ii) the number of billing units metered;
(iii) the computed rate per billing unit;
(iv) the total amount due for electricity used;
(v) a clear and unambiguous statement that the bill
is not from the utility or retail electric provider, which shall be
named in the statement;
(vi) the name and address of the tenant to whom the
bill is applicable;
(vii) the name of the firm rendering the submetering
bill and the name or title, address, and telephone number of the person
or persons to be contacted in case of a billing dispute;
(viii) the date by which the tenant must pay the bill;
and
(ix) the name, address, and telephone number of the
party to whom payment is to be made.
(2) Due date. The due date of the bill shall not be
less than seven days after issuance. A bill for submetered service
is delinquent if not received by the party indicated on the bill by
the due date. The postmark date, if any, on the envelope of the bill
or on the bill itself shall constitute proof of the date of issuance.
An issuance date on the bill shall constitute proof of the date of
issuance if there is no postmark on the envelope or bill. If the due
date falls on a holiday or weekend, the due date for payment purposes
shall be the next work day after the due date.
(3) Disputed bills. In the event of a dispute between
the tenant and the owner regarding any bill, the owner shall promptly
make an investigation as shall be required by the particular case,
and report the results to the tenant. The investigation and report
shall be completed within 30 days from the date the tenant notified
the owner of the dispute.
(4) Tenant access to records. The tenants of any dwelling
unit whose electrical consumption is submetered shall be allowed by
the owner to review and copy the master billing for the current month's
billing period and for the 12 preceding months, and all submeter readings
of the entire apartment house or mobile home park for the current
month and for the 12 preceding months.
(5) Estimated bills. Estimated bills shall not be rendered
unless the meter has been tampered with or is out of order, and shall
be distinctly marked "estimated bill".
Cont'd... |
